Examkin

Question

Difficulty: MediumIntonation Patterns

In standard English speech, if a speaker utters the sentence, 'You didn't see the teacher, did you?' using a falling tone on the tag question, which of the following best describes the communicative function of this intonation pattern?

  1. The speaker is confident about the statement and expects agreement.Answer
  2. B
    The speaker is genuinely uncertain and is asking for information.
  3. C
    The speaker is issuing a direct command to the listener.
  4. D
    The speaker is expressing surprise at an unexpected situation.

Answer

The speaker is confident about the statement and expects agreement.
A falling intonation pattern on a tag question indicates that the speaker feels confident about the main statement and expects the listener to confirm or agree with it.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the utterance structure.
The sentence consists of a main declarative statement ('You didn't see the teacher') followed by a tag question ('did you?').
Identifying the grammatical construction helps determine standard Received Pronunciation intonation rules.
2
Determine the communicative function of a falling tone on a tag question.
In Received Pronunciation (RP), a falling pitch contour on a tag question signals that the speaker expects the listener to agree with the statement.
When the speaker is certain of the facts, the tag does not function as a genuine question but as a confirmation seeker.

Key Concept

Intonation Patterns in Tag Questions
Rate this question

Topics

Intonation Patterns

More questions from this topic